you’ll have to forgive me.  i’m in hermit artist / mad scientist mode.  the new studio is almost completely set up.  all of the parts are plugged in properly and cables are going to the right places.  i’ve spent hours holed up in my house putting the basics together.  managed to call tech support only once!

now comes the mad scientist part.  the part that i usually leave to my co-producer jay ruston and anyone else who knows the digital recording software better than i do - which is most everyone!  it’s the part about recording that is all about the engineering and the mechanics.  tweeking the virtual mixing board knobs and making sure everything sounds just like you want it.  very few women engineers in the business.  very few women in the business in general.  i like the challenge of getting intimate with the technical stuff and being a girl to boot!  yes…i’m managing to read manuals.  that’s the girl part kicking in.  i doubt any of my guy musician friends settled down with a cup of tea and the manual!

this morning, i got a call from my dear friend, che, from bombay.  these lovely surprises are the lasting effects of my birthday being 10 days ago.  friends sending cards and sweet treats.  a few friends have even sent me a couple of woowoo moments.  that’s what we call time with psychics and soothsayers.  i have had a couple of readings and have one tonight with a clairvoyant. 

so far, the gist of the readings have been about my need to travel for career success (i read that as touring), having children with some brilliant man that will rock my world (that sounds intense), and having a generally blessed life.  yes…i could have told them that.  blessed is definitely the case. 

i like how crazy i’m becoming (at least on paper)…hunched over my studio desk with all these flashing mixing board lights interspersed with phone sessions touching the other side of this realm.  hmmmm….so this is what form my artistry has taken.  loving it.

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saturday was my birthday and that night, i had a few friends over to the house for a little house party.  cigars and scotch and 6 hours of an itunes playlist coming out of my portable bose system.  caught up with some old friends and new ones.  late into the night, enjoying an excuse for a celebration.

birthdays always get me thinking - looking inside.  i think it has something to do with birthday candles staring back at you filled with a potential wish come true.  what do i wish for this year?  last year, i think it was the strength to make it on my own.  find myself financially independent and turning azadi into something pretty special.  the wish came true. 

it occurred to me though, that wishes can also bring on a little residual baggage.  some of my friends and i call it "your story."  a person’s story could be "i’m a stressed out medical student."  "i’m a sleep deprived new mother."  "i’m a workaholic."  at my birthday party, i realized what my latest story has become.  "i did it all by myself." 

what i did by myself is not really that impressive given that everyone at some point in their life takes responsibility and handles their business - by themselves.  you just hunker down and get on your feet in every way.  but when you do if for the first time, i guess it becomes so much a part of your identity.  "i’m doing it by myself."  and sure enough, this year, i got to see that it all stemmed from my last birthday wish…

so this year, i wished for…well i can’t tell you, because then it won’t come true.  let’s just leave it at that i hope my new story includes someone other than myself.

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first..let me start by apologizing for my lack of entries these past few weeks.  i have been enthralled in tax madness.  new accountant for my new life.  anyhow…things are getting in order.  cleaning up my life in every way.

i have been keenly aware for these days when i’ve been quiet in my apartment with my bank statements, just how much music means to me.  not just when i think of how much of whatever income i have goes right back into my love for music - a new stand, guitar strings, studio equipment, a trip to nyc to meet my lawyer, cds, concert tickets.  it’s some sort of a financial obsession.  but while i was organizing and stapling and filling out forms, i had my music playlist going.  and i began to think of all the sense memories that music can inspire.

like, certain hindi film songs actually bring up the smell of frying onions because my mom used to listen to that song when she cooked.  or outkaste’s ms. jackson reminds me of the first time i went to the grammys because the woman in the row behind us was a teacher who had brought her students and her name was ms. jackson and outkaste was performing that night.  she said that when her kids were late to class, they sing the song, "i’m sorry ms. jackson…" and the other kids in the class would respond in "ooohhhh."  that’s funny!  we all have these stories.  music is our sonic time capsule.

so now i’m thinking of the next album and in the process of putting together my new studio.  i’ve decided to do the preproduction myself this time.  god willing, i’ll be up and running after july 8, which is the date of my dance show.  hoping to get two new produced songs by the end of the summer to shop for a new deal here in the states.  and thinking of my next time capsule.  summer fun. 

in the meantime, i’m loading up some new photos of me in the summer fun of vegas.  finally…a picture of me and sammy…

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dear kiruba,

thank you for the podview.  i promise to get more up on technology and figure out how to add multi-media dimensions to my blog.  in the meantime, i will keep checking in on your site and see what’s going on!

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i saw an incredible movie last night.  no doubt, al gore is on the campaign trail once again, but good for him.  it’s embarassing that he has not been our president, but that is another story.  really what i want to talk about is his new film, "an inconvenient truth." 

i used to consider myself a fairly conscious individual when it came to the social issues.  but after watching this film, i was shamefully humbled.  the statistics are staggering.  and what is even more compelling is the visuals of dried lake beds, giant glaciers crumbling, mountaintops with no snow on them…the list goes on and on.  thanks to al gore, we have access to information the public was not allowed to know before.  and bringing awareness to environmental issues is something mr. gore’s been working on since the 70s.

there is so much more to do.  we are throwing away our planet as we know it all so that oil tycoons can stay rich.  there is no reason to resist change especially when there is so much to gain from being respectful of such a delicate ecosystem we live in.  the environmental, social and economic advantages of being green are enormous.

please please please go see the movie.  sign the petitions.  talk to your local government.  demand electric cars and recycling bins in your neighborhood.  take action. 

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so recently i was at the indian film festival here in los angeles.  was interviewed by amrita tv, a kerala station.  cool to see me on tv!

kerala is one of my most favorite places…i understand why they call it god’s own country.  and my favorite town…varkala.  highly recommend a trip there.

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